


Where Are You Now?

by LuckyLucy92



Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:27:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25856626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyLucy92/pseuds/LuckyLucy92
Summary: It was just an average day for two young boys 20 years ago, but one event would change theirs, and everyone around them forever, but it also shows the love and support that comes along within the darkest of times.
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Comments: 42
Kudos: 57





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are always appreciated! 😭 This story was really hard to write, but I hope I was somehow able to bring awareness. 🙏

Back on August 12th, 2000, Ben Mitchell was riding his skateboard on the sidewalk while his best friend, Callum Highway, followed close behind him, he watched in fascination just how skilled he was at it, and just how cute he looked wearing a backwards baseball cap, though, he kept his puppy dog love to himself in fear of pushing Ben away, and also concerns of how his father and brother would react to that.

"Alright, Ben, it's time to go back inside, my dad will kill me if I'm even a second late for dinner."

"Okay? Go right ahead, no one's holding you back..."

"Ben! I'm not just going to leave you out here all alone like that."

"Suit yourself." Ben said, as he picked up speed on his skateboard, causing Callum to have to pick up his own pace in order to keep up with him.

After an hour had gone by, Callum began to feel really hungry, "Oh, come on now, enough's enough."

"Wait! Just an extra 15 minutes, please."

"No! You always say stuff like that, and then want an extra few more minutes after, it's time to go. Now."

Ben just rolled his eyes, before saying, "Stop it, you're beginning to sound a lot like your father..."

Callum felt extremely hurt by this statement, he hated his father, every single thing about the man, so the last thing that he wanted was to be compared to the guy.

"You know what? I'm done, I've tried, and now I'm going home!" Callum shouted, before turning right around to walk away.

Ben instantly thought that Callum was bluffing, but started to worry once he didn't return after a few minutes had passed, "Guess I really did push him too far this time..."

After that realization, Ben decided to listen to Callum, and head back home, but before he could, he was approached by a mystery man, "Hey, kid, you all alone out here?"

Ben started to feel super uncomfortable in this situation, "No, my dad's here, sir."

"Where?" The man said, slowly getting closer and closer to him.

"Over there!" Ben yelled, before making a run for it, but was then roughly pulled back by the arm.

"Nice try, kid." The man said, quickly picking him up and throwing him over his shoulder, before tossing him into the back of his white pickup truck while Ben kicked and screamed to be free, but to no avail.

...

Callum was at his flat getting scold by his father for missing dinner, "Where the fuck were you tonight?!"

"I was walking a friend home."

"Shit, who?!"

"A kid that you're not familiar with, sorry." Callum said, lying to his father, so that Ben wouldn't end up punished for it.

"Go to your room, I'll meet you up there in a second." Jonno said, removing his black belt.

"Dad, wait!" Stuart said, he couldn't keep quiet any longer, "There's really no need for that, I mean, I think not getting dinner tonight is enough of a punishment, yeah?"

Jonno just rolled his eyes, before smacking the taste out of his older son's mouth, "Don't you ever, and I mean ever, tell me what to do, ya hear?!"

Stuart was about to throw a punch of his own, but was then held back by Callum, who whispered in his ear, "Don't, he's not even worth it."

Jonno just gave them both a very smug look, before heading upstairs to his bedroom, Callum then quickly looked at Stuart, "Please, we have to go back out! Ben might still be out there alone."

"No, bruv! If our dad finds out that we sneaked out to visit that trouble making boy, I... I don't know what he'd do."

Callum then broke down in tears, "Fine! I'll go back out there by myself."

"No, wait! Screw dad, I'm coming with ya."

Callum reached out to give him a bear hug, "Love you, bruv!"

...

Stuart and Callum raced out to go find Ben, but he was no longer there, so Stu just thought that he had gone home, but Cal knew better than that, so he called his father, Phil, to ask him if Ben had returned home, but he shockingly told him no, thinking that they were still out playing together, but once all three of them did a little calling and looking around with zero success, they phoned the police.

Fast forward to August 12th 2020, Callum is now living in his own flat, engaged to be married to Whitney Dean, so practically everything about his life has changed since then, but one thing that remained the same was his fight to bring his childhood crush, Ben, justice. He didn't care if he had to wait another 20 years to see the son of a bitch get life in prison or the death penalty, he was gonna solve the biggest puzzle of his life, the one that stole his childhood away from him, the one that made him grow up way too fast, the one that made him blame and hate himself daily for living Ben all alone by himself, the one that made him promise to himself to stay in the closet, 'cause the only boy that he wanted to be with was Ben.

Every once in awhile, Callum still had nightmares about the mystery he never got the chance to see and about actually finding Ben, but alive, just in the woods or in a dumpster somewhere, which would probably be better than always wondering things like if he was hungry and cold. Maybe he was tired and scared? These are the kind of thoughts that overwhelmed his brain 24 hours a day, and severely affected his mental health, also "burying him" in an empty coffin didn't help, I mean, he got to say his goodbyes, but it didn't give him any closure.

"Still thinking about Ben?" Whitney softly said, she actually never met him before, but felt like she did from all the little stories that Callum had told her.

"Yeah, but I promise to not let this ruin our wedding day, though." Callum said, taking her hands into his own.

"It's okay, I know this still must be really tough for you." Whitney said, before placing a delicate kiss on his forehead.

"It is, but you didn't kidnap him, so you don't deserve to suffer."

"And neither do you! Which is why I'm gonna be here every step of the way for you."

"Yeah, so am I, I mean, my son clearly loved you for a very good reason..." Phil said, as he walked through the living room, but he wasn't alone, he brought Jonno and Stuart along with him, "Sorry, they both kinda followed me here." He joked, causing them all to laugh.

But even these fun little moments were never really happy ones, 'cause Ben was always in the back of his mind, and he just wanted to hug him, kiss him, hell, he would even give his own life to fight with him one last time, but he knew in his heart that those days were long gone, and now the next step is finding out who did this to him, to everyone, and why?


	2. Chapter 2

Callum only had a week left to go before his big wedding day to his best friend, Whitney, and he would've been a lot more focused on it if it wasn't for that call, the call that woke him up in the middle of the night and kept him up long after it was over, "Who's calling?"

"It's DI Thompson."

"Can it wait until tomorrow? I'm trying to sleep right no-"

"No! You need to hear this now... there's been a crack in the case."

"What case?" Callum said, needing confirmation before getting his hopes up even a little bit.

"In the disappearance of Ben Mitchell."

Callum felt his eyes began to water and despite being young he never thought he'd live to see the day that new information would be brought to the now two-decade long case, "W-what you'd find?"

"We found his skateboard and baseball cap in a shallow grave."

"And the body?"

"Nowhere to be found."

Callum let out a sigh of relief, 'cause maybe just maybe he was still alive out there somewhere in this world and now for the time being he had two of his most prized possessions and he could not wait until tomorrow morning when he finally gets the chance to break the news to Ben's father, Phil.

...

"What do you mean?" Phil said, almost shattering his coffee mug all over the kitchen floor.

"They found some of Ben's stuff, but no body, so... so there's still a slim chance that he's still alive."

Phil just stared at Callum for a moment, which made the younger man feel uncomfortable to say the least, but he knew that this breaking news was a hard pill to swallow, "Believe me, you don't wanna find him..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It..." Phil said, taking a deep breath, "It means that Ben you'll found out the truth... that he ran away from home, that we ran away from this, us."

Callum was speechless at first, he always wondered why Phil didn't wanna talk about it... and now he knows why, "How can you say that? Look, I know that you and Ben had your problems in the past, but he'd never do something like that to you."

"Listen, I'm sick and tired of you talking Ben this, Ben that, now get the hell out of my house."

"Oh, so you're just gonna continue to doubt Ben are ya? Father of the year right there."

"Now!"

Callum just shook his head in disbelief, before slowly getting out of the chair and making his way out the house, 'Some things never change...' Callum thought to himself.

...

"At least I now have something to cling onto at night..." Callum sadly said, looking at Ben's things in his lap.

"Exactly..." Whitney whispered, gently rubbing his back while they sat on the couch, "But to be completely honest, maybe... maybe Phil's right."

"Oh, come on, not you too."

"Sorry, but just think about it, Phil and Ben haven't exactly had a normal father-son relationship, so it wouldn't really be a surprise if he ran away, hell, I don't think anyone would even blame him... except for Phil."

"Okay, true..." Callum said, letting out a deep breath, "But that'd mean he always ran away from me."

"Callum, his father was emotionally and physically abusive of him, do you really wish he would've stayed back, for you?"

'Yes' Callum thought to himself, but soon snapped out of it, "No... no, of course not."

Whitney then took his hands into hers, "Look, if he's really still alive then I'm sure that he's living his best life, 'cause after all, he'd be in his 20s now."

Callum gave her a small smile, she really was the best friend in the entire universe, always giving him proper advice whenever he was lost, but that's it, he had absolutely no sexual attraction towards her, yeah, he tried, he tried really hard to think of her in that light, but eventually he knew that it was an impossible thing for him to achieve, still, that didn't stop him from playing the role of Prince Charming to her Cinderella.

...

"Callum!" DI Thompson shouted, as he saw him approaching the police station for work.

"Yes?"

"How'd the father take it? Phil."

"Not too well, to be honest... he seems to think that Ben ran away from his broken home."

"Ah..." DI Thompson said, looking deep in thought.

"Ah?" Callum said, he was expecting more than just that as a response.

"Callum, Phil is a living monster... I expected nothing more than what you just revealed about him."

"But..." Callum said, feeling the need to defend Ben's father, "He ain't all that bad, he just has some really bad day, ya know?"

DI Thompson looked quite amused at Callum for even trying to convince him to feel any other way about Phil, "Hey, never lose your innocence, kid."

Callum just stood there as he watched DI Thompson walk away, was he really getting the wrong impression about the Mitchell family? Maybe Ben actually did run away and Phil is a horrible person... but before he could really even start to doubt himself, he was approached by a former neighbor, Danny Hardcastle.

"Wait, do I know you?" Callum said, he knew that he'd seen that face before, but for whatever reason he wasn't getting good vibes from it.

"No!" Danny yelled, causing a scene, "Now get away from me."

Callum just let him walk away, he wasn't about to fight with a middle aged man in public like that, but still, Phil somehow saw enough of an issue to ask, "You alright?"

Callum was shocked by his question after their fallout earlier today, "Um, yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Phil looked like he was thinking long and hard about what his next few words were gonna be, before finally getting enough courage to say, "Because that guy right there was our old next door who tormented you and Ben for years... Danny Hardcastle."


	3. Chapter 3

It's been over 2 months since Phil broke the news to Callum that his old next door neighbor, Danny, was now his new next door neighbor. And it was clear as day that Danny didn't forget about all the times that he mentally and physically abused both Ben and Callum as children from the way that he kept avoiding him now, but why would he come back after all this time? Why would he move right next to Callum again? Wasn't he scared of looking like a suspect again after Ben disappeared? These were just a few of the questions Callum had for Danny, but no amount of police training could prepare him for the answers...

"Danny!" Callum yelled, he spotted him in the dark alley doing something suspicious.

"I told you to stay away from me months ago!"

"What are you doing?"

"Geez, you're not too smart for a copper..."

"You know what I mean! Why are you doing drugs?"

"Callum, just arrest me already! Going back to prison would be better than talking to you."

"Oh, really? Even just a day before Christmas, yeah?"

Danny actually looked defeated, "Fine... ask away then."

Callum could finally breathe a sigh of relief, "Okay... what do you know about the disappearance of Ben, Ben Mitchell?"

"What the hell does that have to do with the drugs?"

"Forget the drugs! I wanna focus on what happened 20 years ago."

"Damn..." Danny said, his eyes began to water, "Alright, it was me! I killed Ben Mitchell! There ya happy?!

"Danny Hardcastle, you are under arrest." Callum then went over to cuff him, but he was having a hard time since his hands were so shaky from the confusion.

...

Whitney decided to throw him a party to celebrate the end of a 20 year long search for Ben and she made sure to invite all of his closet friends and family, "Surprise!"

"What's all this for?" Callum said, looking around at everyone dazed and confused.

"I heard, we all heard that they found the man who killed Ben, so at least now you can have some peace." Whitney said, as she began to wrap her arms around Callum.

"Whit, this is nothing to celebrate like that! It's not like Ben was found alive!" Callum yelled, before storming up the stairs.

Whitney then excused herself before following him, "Callum! It wasn't just that, I..."

"You're what?"

"I'm pregnant."

Callum was in absolute shock, he cancelled their fairytale wedding 2 months ago due to not being ready yet to become a husband, so he sure as hell wasn't ready to become a father, "I-I don't know what to say..."

"I know it's a bit of a shock, but it's gonna be okay, we'll both make good parents, I promise."

Callum took a deep breath before embracing her, "You better be right."

Whitney laughed a little bit, "Don't worry, I always am, duh."

...

Callum was at the police station when DI Thompson showed up, "Callum, a word with you!"

He immediately dropped what he was working on and followed his boss, "This guy refused to speak with anybody else on the subject other than you, so..."

"Remember me?" Danny said, giving a wave and a smile that made Callum wanna knock him off his chair.

Callum had a million sarcastic replies in his head, but went with the professional one instead, "Yes."

"Good boy. Now I wanna show you coppers were the body, I mean... were the skeleton is."

Callum just rolled his eyes at his nasty remark, "Lead the way..."

"Yeah and fast, 'cause we have like a billion other things to do today."

Danny just squinted his eyes at him before doing as he was told. Unfortunately the fact that he was cooperating perfectly didn't stop Callum from feeling like he was gonna throw up on the car ride there, but he held it together enough to make the trip, he knew that Ben was smiling down from heaven at him for doing so, it was one of the last acts of kindness that he could possibly do for him, so he sure as hell wasn't gonna waste it.

"Ta-da!" Danny said, as he came to a stop, pointing down at a shallow grave.

"Grab your shovels men." DI Thompson said, before stopping Callum, "Not you, this is a little bit too personal for you."

"But I-"

"Callum."

The rest of the crew dug up the grave, but were completely perplexed when it turned out to be empty, "I don't understand." DI Thompson said, before looking over at Danny.

"You boys ever heard of a false confession?" Danny said, before giving them all a dirty smirk.

"You wouldn't." Callum said, he felt like he was gonna cry.

"I just did." Danny said, before bursting out in laughter.

"Take him away!" DI Thompson shouted at the others, before going over to comfort Callum, "Are you okay?"

"Yes... no." Callum said, right before weeping in his bosses arms.

"Come on, let me drive you back home."

"Home? No, I can't let my family see me like this! It's almost Christmas."

"Okay, okay." DI Thompson said, trying to come up with a plan, "Hey, how about you stay at my place until you feel just a little bit better?"

"Really?" Callum said, the tears finally stopped coming down.

"Of course. You're like a son to me after all." DI Thompson said, before giving him a pat on the back.

Callum then wiped away his tears and gave DI Thompson a sad smile, but before he could even thank the older man he received a text from Whitney, "Please marry me for Christmas. Our baby deserves that much."

DI Thompson saw the displeased look on Callum's face, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Callum..."

"Okay, no." Callum said, taking a deep breath, "My fiancée kinda sorta wants to get married and I kinda sorta don't."

"Yicks."

"I know."

"Look, you'll have a little bit of time to yourself to think things through, relax... it'll all be okay."

"Okay, thanks... for everything, I mean, you just actually made this horrible day less horrible."

DI Thompson slightly laughed, "No worries, now let's head back home before it gets too dark, 'cause we're basically in the middle of nowhere right now."

Callum couldn't help, but laugh a little bit, "Sounds good to me."


	4. Chapter 4

Callum was finally at DI Thompson's house after a long drive and even though the father figure tried to make him feel at home he still just couldn't stop worrying about all of his problems that had no end in sight, so the older man tried to take matters into his own hands, he just couldn't stand watching him in such a state like that for any longer.

"Gimme your phone." DI Thompson said, reaching his hand out while not making eye contact.

"Why?" Callum said, his mouth hanging a little bit open.

"Just do it."

Callum then slowly handed over his phone to him, carefully watching as his took it with ease, "Be careful, I have photos of my loved ones on there, so don't delete anything."

"Shhh, I won't, I'm gonna text Whitney for you, call off the wedding since you don't have the nerve."

"What? But I wanna marry her, I'm just a little bit nervou-"

"You do not!"

Callum gulped, "Fine, you're right, I'm just lying to myself."

DI Thompson then put a hand over his, "Been there, done that, so I couldn't just let you make the same mistake as I did."

Callum gave a sad smile, "Thanks... for everything."

"Don't mention it."

...

Callum accidentally overslept on Christmas morning at DI Thompson's place, so when he finally woke up his messages were going crazy from Whitney to Phil and everybody in between, "Oh, shit." He muttered to himself.

DI Thompson came downstairs to find Callum frantically throwing on his clothes, "You alright?!"

"Yeah, just overslept a bit... well, thanks for letting me sleep on the couch for the night, but I better get back home now."

"Right, right, your loved ones are waiting for you... have fun."

Callum could sense the sadness in his voice, after all, his boss didn't have any living relatives any more, "Um, do you wanna come along?"

DI Thompson's face lit up from the invitation, "I... I'd love to."

"Great." Callum said, he couldn't help, but to smile back at him despite his shitty Christmas morning.

Once they both arrived back to the flat all eyes were on Callum, "Babe, you had us all worried sick this morning!" Whitney shouted, as she wrapped her arms tightly around him.

"Sorry, I fell asleep and then once I woke up I tried to explain everything, but then my phone went dead... and now I'm here."

"It's okay. And it's also okay that we can't get married today, 'cause of your busy schedule and all... DI Thompson texted me all about it last night."

"Sorry! I-I'll make it up to you."

"Yeah, you can make it up to me in the bedroom tonight..." Whitney whispered, before giving him a little wink.

Callum felt extremely uncomfortable, all of their intimate moments together were forced and awkward as hell for him, he just wanted to delete himself from this conversation, "Oh, look, it's DI Thompson!"

"What's he doing here?" Whitney said, her voice was far from pleased.

"Look, he doesn't have any family members, remember? I mean, it's the least that I could do for him after everything that he's done for me."

"Fine," Whitney said, glancing over at his boss then back at him, "I guess that he can be the only nonfamily member here... it is Christmas after all."

"Thanks, Whit!" Callum shouted, giving her a bear hug, the ones that she always melted right into.

...

During the party Phil left early, but wanted to give Callum something that was in his car before he drove away, so he called him outside the flat, "What is it?"

"I... I found this." Phil said, passing him a childhood photo of Ben and Callum dressed up for Halloween, Mitchell was the Joker and Highway was Batman.

"I-I can't believe you found this..." Callum said, now on the verge of crying.

"Take good care of it for me." Phil said, as his voice began to break.

"Me? You want me to have this?" Callum said, as the tears began to stream down his face.

Phil just nodded his head before driving off, he knew that Callum could use that priceless photo to keep Ben's memory alive, plus it was the best Christmas present that he could possibly give to him, so he just had to do it.

Callum stood there for awhile just staring at the 1999 photo until it started to rain, "Let's go inside before we get soaked." He said to the photo of Ben, but as he was just about to turn around and head inside he noticed something...

"Ben?!" He called out, before racing across the street to approach the dark figure, "Where were you for 20 years?! I've missed you so fuckin' much."

"I've been here... out in the open... I guess that just goes to show just how much you guys were desperately searching for me..."

"Huh? We've been looking frantically for you since day 1!"

"But clearly not hard enough since you just found me after all this time."

Callum just shook his head, before saying, "Come on, let's go home now."

"No! This is my home now, so you can go run along..."

"What? Okay, Ben, I know that you're upset, but we need to inform the others that you're okay!"

"Physically yes, mentally no, I've been long gone since the year 2000..."

...

Everyone began to leave the party, "Thanks for coming!" Whitney shouted, as she held open the front door.

"No, thanks for having us!" Stuart shouted back, as he gave her a quick goodbye hug.

"Wait, who's Callum talking to?" Whitney said, as she looked past Stuart, which got him to sprint down the steps and onto the park with Whitney close behind while the others watched in confusion.

"Callum, who are you talking to in the pouring rain? It's thundering out here!" Stuart shouted, grabbing him by the arm.

"Ben! I just found him, you guys!" Callum shouted back, pointing at the swings in the park.

"What do you mean? No one's on the swings." Whitney said, before looking over at Stuart extremely puzzled.

"Yes, there is! He's right there!" Callum shouted, attempting to walk over, but was pulled back by Stuart.

"Bruv, there ain't nobody swinging! Hey, are you feeling okay?" Stuart whispered, touching his forehead for his temperature.

"Of course I am!" Callum shouted again, right before everything suddenly went pitch black...


	5. Chapter 5

After having successful brain surgery, Callum woke up on New Year's Eve in a hospital bed, after dealing with headaches, blurred vision and the inability to tell reality from fantasy, but him collapsing was the final nail in the coffin. And now he felt so stupid for not telling anyone about how much the disappearance of Ben Mitchell was actually affecting him, he just kept it all inside, hoping that these symptoms would magically go away on there own... boy was he wrong.

A nurse suddenly walked in, before saying, "Callum, you have a visitor."

It was DI Thompson, he passed Callum some flowers before sitting in the chair next to the bed, "I... I'm gonna have to let you go."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, clearly this Ben Mitchell case has been affecting you way more than you've been letting on."

"Yeah, okay, you're right, but with a little bit of treatment I'll be good as ne-"

"No..." DI Thompson said, rubbing his forehead, "It's not that easy, it's never that easy."

Callum felt like crying, but somehow no tears were coming out, it was like he had cried too many times that there was nothing left, so he just stared blankly at DI Thompson, who had nothing more to say, causing him to leave.

Throughout the day Callum was visited by his loved ones, but one guest in particular caught him by surprise though, "Callum, how are you?" It was his father Jonno, he hadn't seen him since he was 18-years-old.

"Dad... what are you doing here?"

"I heard about what had happened to you last night, so I just had to see you whether or not Stuart approved."

Callum gulped, yeah, Stuart was the reason why he stopped talking to his father, but never really wanted anything to do with him as a teenager, so he thought it'd be no better time to be honest than now, "Dad... I-I think it'd be best if we both went our separate ways."

"Wait a minute... did that boy Stuart put you up to this?"

"No!" Callum shouted, before calming himself down, "It was a decision that I made all by myself."

"Ah, well, you've never really been that bright as a kid, so..."

"Just go! I've had enough of the mental and physical abuse..."

Jonno just squinted his eyes, before slowly getting up to leave, that was when Callum told a nurse that he didn't want any more visitors for the day, he already had enough of everyone and just wanted to sleep at this point, but knew that wasn't gonna happen with all the fireworks that were about to go off as midnight...

...

Once Callum's hospital stay was over, Stuart drove him back to his flat, but the doctors advised him to rest up though, 'cause the recovery time could take several weeks, so his older brother decided to stay over his place to help Whitney take good care of him, he just couldn't take his eyes off of him in this kind of state.

"Stuart, really, you don't have to do all of thi-"

"Shhh, it's okay, I need to make sure that you're actually alright."

Callum just gave him a slight smile, before saying, "You're the best."

"And don't you forget it." Stuart said, giving him a chuckle.

A few minutes later, Whitney walked through the door, "Okay, here, I got us all some Ben & Jerry's."

"Ben?" Callum said weakly, hunching over on the couch.

"Oh no..." Stuart muttered, covering his face.

"Damn, I'm sorry, I can't believe I just did that." Whitney said, picking the ice cream up from the table and throwing the pints back into the bag.

"No, it's fine Whitney, let's just order some pizza to celebrate Callum being back home, yeah?" Stuart said, getting up to call Papa John's.

"Sure..." Whitney whispered, still feeling bad about what she accidentally did.

"Seriously, I'm fine," Callum said, finally sitting up straight again, "But since we're on the subject of Ben... wanna see the Halloween picture that Phil gave to me taken as children?"

Whitney's nodded her head, before saying, "I'd absolutely love to."

Callum then reach down into his pocket, but then realized that the pic wasn't there, "Oh, shit!"

"Ooh, you can't find it?" Whitney said, standing up with him.

"No! And... and that was Ben's last Halloween pic and I also told Phil that I'd take good care of it."

"Okay, calm down," Whitney said, as she glanced across the living room, "Let's just search this entire flat, I'm sure we'll find it."

"Right." Callum said, right before springing into action.

But unfortunately the Halloween photo never turned up, "Oh man, I'm sorry." Whitney said exhaustingly, right before lying down on their bed.

"Don't worry, just... thanks for looking with me." Callum said, giving her a sad smile.

"Of course." Whitney said, fiddling with the bedsheets, "Wait, did you check DI Thompson's place? I mean, I know that you stayed over there for Christmas Eve, so maybe..."

"Hmmm, good point, I'll give it a little look, thank you." Callum said, kissing her on the forehead.

...

Callum went up the steps and began banging on the door, "DI Thompson, it's me Callum, can I come in?!"

After trying a few more times to no avail, he decided to give up, but then happen to notice that the door was unlocked, "What the..." He thought to himself.

His former copper instinct then kicked into full gear, so he immediately pulled out his gun and burst open the door, he instantly noticed the Halloween photo on the desk, "Thank God." He thought to himself.

He quickly walked over and slid it into his back pocket, but then heard a strange noise coming from the basement, so he ran over to kick down the door before grabbing his flashlight, he then slowly went down the staircase... "Help!" He heard a voice call out.

He then flew down the rest of the stairs, before shouting, "Ben?!"


	6. Chapter 6

Callum couldn't believe what he was seeing, it was Ben, yeah, Ben Mitchell, the boy he had been searching for since he was 9-years-old, the boy who gave him a reason to live and then a reason to wanna die, the boy who he thought the most about even when he wasn't around any more, the boy who he thought never got a chance to grow up like Peter Pan, yes, that boy.

Callum rushed over to him, but froze when he heard Ben shout, "Stop! Under your feet! Look under your feet! It's a crawl space!"

Callum immediately hopped off that wooden area, before saying, "What? Why should I look underneath there?"

"Because my daughter and girlfriend are under there, that's why!"

After that Callum didn't even hesitate to rip apart the floor, "Don't worry, you girls are safe now." He softly said, as he reached down to pull Lexi up, then Lola.

"Please untie him now!" Lola cried out, as she held a sobbing Lexi in her arms.

Callum used a knife in his pocket to break the handcuffs, freeing Ben for the first time in who knows how long? Afterwards, they all dashed out of DI Thompson's place, finally.

...

At the hospital, Callum immediately called Phil, he told him that he needed to tell him something, but that it could only be said face-to-face, so Phil, although annoyed by the inconvenience, dropped everything that he was doing and went straight to the hospital.

"Yeah?" Phil said, he could just tell by the tone of Callum's voice that he wasn't hurt or anything, so that really made him wonder why he was at the hospital.

"B-ben's alive."

"What are you talking about?"

"I found him at DI Thompson's place... he was tired up and an absolute mess, but he's alive, he's okay."

"Are you serious? Ben, my son, is alive after missing for 20 years?"

Callum just nodded his head, as tears began to stream down his face, 'cause if there was one person on earth who could understood just how painful this whole entire situation had been, it would be Ben's father, Phil.

"Well, can I see him?" Phil said, already starting to make his way to the back.

"No," Callum said, moving in front of him, "Sadly, we'll just have to wait a little bit longer before he can have any visitors."

Phil just shook his head, he thought that was just plain stupid whoever told Callum that, but knew there was really nothing that either of them could do about it without potentially making things worse, so he just flopped down in the nearest seat in the waiting room and did just that, waited.

Unfortunately, Callum was quite the opposite, he just couldn't sit still, so instead he paced back and forth, just waiting to hear their names be called out, which didn't actually happen until a couple of hours later, "Phil Mitchell?"

"Here!" Phil shouted, running over to the counter, as Callum followed him closely behind.

"Just sign this paper here and you'll be free to see him." The doctor said, which Phil snatched right out of his hands, immediately signing it.

As the doctor lead Phil to the back, he noticed Callum following them, "Ooh, sorry, only family members allowed."

"What?!" Callum shouted, his blood pressure started to rise.

"Wait, he's, uh, family." Phil said, giving him a sly smile.

"Oh really?! Well, I'm really sorry then. Um, please, follow me this way to the back I guess."

Callum then whispered in Phil's ear, "Thank you, you're a lifesaver."

"Hey, after saving my son earlier today, this is the least that I could do." Phil whispered back at him.

...

Once they went into his hospital room, they noticed that he had already fallen asleep, so they just sat down in some chairs and decided to watch some television to pass the time until Ben was awake again, which was only 30 minutes later to their surprise, "Copper?"

"Yes, Ben, it's me, Callum and this is your dad over here, Phil."

"Callum? Aside from being a copper, who are you? And my dad? No, I've never met my dad before."

Callum and Phil just both stared at each other in disbelief, 'cause they both waited 20 long years for this exact moment and Ben can't even remember who either of them are, it was absolutely heartbreaking to witness.

"I-I think I need some air..." Phil said weakly, before sprinting out the door.

"I'll be right back." Callum said softly, trying to keep a brave face on.

"And I'll just be here, 'cause I can't really go anywhere else right now." Ben joked, his dark humor was something that kept him somewhat sane with Lola and Lexi during their kidnap situation.

"Phil, wait up!" Callum shouted, running as fast as he could.

"Why?! So, so, I can see just how fucked up Ben is, oops, I'm sorry, that's not even Ben any more! He can't remember a thing about us."

"Look, I know that you're hurting, hell, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't either, but... but that's still our Ben, he's just... different."

"Callum, that's not the same boy who I raised, and I'm not just gonna pretend that he's a real Mitchell for your liking, so I'm done... I'm done with being hurt for the past 20 years." Phil said, holding back tears, "You take good care of yourself."

Callum couldn't say anything, he was lost for words, so he just watched him slowly walk away and once he was out of sight he decided to not go back into the hospital, Phil's words impacted him more than he ever thought they could, so instead he just went back home, he had a lot to tell Whitney any way.

Sadly, Ben was actually waiting for Callum to return, after all, he was the copper who rescued him and he was also the first person he saw other than Lola and Lexi for the first time in years, "Can't wait to see my hero in a sec." Ben thought to himself fondly, as he patiently waited and waited... for nothing.


	7. Chapter 7

The conversation between Callum and Whitney didn't go as planned, he felt as if she didn't really care about the fact that Ben was found alive, 'cause her main focus was on the fact that he didn't text or call her to let her know that he was alright, and sure, he felt bad about that, but also felt bothered by the fact that she wasn't trying to be understanding, like at all.

"Can't believe you'd just leave your pregnant girlfriend hanging like that..."

"Whit, I'm sorry, so sorry, but you know that I've been desperately waiting for this very moment since I was a kid, why can't you just understand that?"

"Why? Well, maybe because I'm sick and tired of you putting Ben first before me, cancelling dates and such, any time new information would be brought into the case."

"Look, I already apologized... I don't know what else you want from me."

"Well, maybe I want a life that doesn't involve Ben in it? I mean, you already solved a 20 years old case... now it's about time to be present again."

Whitney then walked away, but her words haunted him, I mean, he couldn't possibly give up Ben after finally reuniting with him after all these years, right? And even though Phil's words earlier today did affect him more than he'd like, still, that doesn't mean that he actually ever agreed with him, he just needed a little bit of time to think is all.

...

Ben was absolutely terrified when Callum never came back, thinking that he might've gotten himself killed being a hero to somebody else, this caused him cry himself to sleep that night, he just felt so upset that he never really got a chance to thank him or say goodbye to him, nothing.

So, when Callum paid him a visit the next day, he was relieved to see that he was actually okay, "You're back!"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you said you'd 'be right back' yesterday, but you never came..."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Callum said, taking a deep breath, "I actually listened to some people who I shouldn't have."

"What do you mean?"

"It's not important, what matters now is that we focus on your recovery."

"Sounds good to me."

"So, are you gonna tell me how you met your girlfriend, Lola?" Callum asked, but felt sick to his stomach referring to her that way.

"Sorry, I can't even remember, some moments are like a blur to me."

"Right." Callum softly said, he knew that he was all just one big giant blur to him and that hurt so very much.

...

After his hospital visit to Ben, Callum decided to go over to Phil's house, he wasn't just gonna let him be a garbage father again, no, he was gonna tell him exactly what he didn't wanna hear, 'cause his son needed him now more than ever before. "Open up, it's Callum!"

Phil didn't open the first time, the second or the third, so Callum just kept on banging, 'cause he knew damn well that he was inside, he had to be, "Okay, okay, what do you want Callum?"

"Oh come on, you already know, I want you to actually be a good father this time around!"

"Excuse me?! Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"

"I thought Phil Mitchell, ya know, the only soul on earth who was sincerely helping me from the beginning with this search, unlike that evil DI Thompson..."

"Where is that dirtbag anyway, huh?! I have a baseball bat with his name on it!"

"Phil, I... he's a wanted man, some of my fellow coppers believe that he purposely left the door open so that I could go inside."

"And why would he do something like that? You'd possibly find Ben then."

"I don't know... because he somehow thought he was about to be caught, so he surrender? Or maybe he was also trying to trap me? No one really knows right now."

"Well, let's go hunting for him! I'm not just gonna sit back and watch him walk free like that."

"No, please... we have more important things to think about."

"What's more important than this?! There's nothing, absolutely nothing."

"Ben... your son needs you, please be there for him in his time of need."

Phil's voice started to break, "Callum, no, I can't face him... not like this."

Callum also began getting emotional, knowing just how painful a hospital visit with Ben is, "Listen, I know how you're feeling, but you need to think of Ben first, not yourself."

Tears were now streaming down Phil's face, this was gonna be one of the hardest things he'd ever have to do, but knew that he had no other choice, especially after everything he'd put Ben through in his short time together with him, he just had to do whatever it takes to make things a little bit better, he owned him that much.

...

Phil stood outside the door of the hospital room for awhile, peaking through the window at Ben as he sat there watching cartoons on TV just like when he was a little boy and Phil couldn't help but to smile at this sight, it was one that was taken away from him far to early, so he savored this lighthearted moment before embracing for impact...

"Knock, knock." Phil gently said, slowly opening the door, not to startle him.

"Ooh, you're the guy who visited me with that copper the other day, right?"

"Yup, that was me." Phil said, letting out a laugh, but humorous was the last thing he was feeling.

"Hey, what's that?" Ben said, pointing at the object in Phil's hand.

"Oh, this?" Phil said, holding it up straight, "It's just a little skateboard that you used to own... thought I'd return it to you now, so here you go."

"Skateboard? You mean the one that I... the one that I got for my 5th birthday?"


	8. Chapter 8

Phil was absolutely shocked that Ben somehow remembered his birthday present, and was THIS close to crying his eyes out, but kept it together, 'cause he didn't wanna frighten him even a little bit after everything he's been through, so he just shook his head and wore the goofiest grin on his face, which his son returned with a little smirk of his own. After that special little moment, Phil decided to watch some classic cartoons just like old times with Ben, which surprisingly helped him remember even more times in his life.

"Do you remember that time when you told me to make you some ice cream, but instead I sneaked outside and scooped up some snow-"

"Then you put it in a cone and covered it in fudge! Of course I remember that."

This caused them both to laugh their heads off, life was just so much easier back in 2000, all the stuff they used to worry about seemed like nothing now and it made them realize just how much they took advantage of the good times, overexaggerated the bad, and behaved ugly to the ones who they loved the most, man, how could they ever act that way?

Anyway, throughout the weeks of his stay at the hospital, Ben was regularly visited by Phil and Callum, which caused him to remember more and more about his father, but unfortunately, he still couldn't remember a single thing about his childhood best friend, and that was absolutely devastating to say the least, "You really don't remember all the laughs and tears we shared together?!" Callum snapped, he just couldn't understand how he could possibly remember Phil, but not him.

"Officer, could you be any louder?!" Ben shouted back, his so-called hero was quickly turning into the villain in his eyes.

"Officer?! I already told you that my first name is Callum, so try calling me that for a change, yeah?!"

"Okay, how about basturd?! How's that for a change?!"

And in that very moment, Callum wanted nothing more than to knockout Ben, 'cause then maybe just maybe he'd remember himself, but he knew deep down inside that it most likely wouldn't help, no, it'd just end up ruining his rising career as a police officer, so he just settled for something verbal, something that sadly might actually cause more damage, "You know what? I wish I would've never had found you."

Now we all know that Ben is a tough guy, hell, he'd have to be in order to endure such punishment for over 2 decades, but this... this right here broke him, 'cause the guy who he thought was a living angel was seeming much more like the devil now, and he really just couldn't handle any more heartbreak, "Get out!" Ben shouted, as tears rushed down his face.

"Ben..." Callum said, already regretting his words, he had never seen him so upset before.

"I said leave!" Ben shouted again, pointing at the door this time, which Callum then slowly walked out of.

...

That huge argument from yesterday night couldn't have come at a worst time, 'cause today was the day that the formerly missing Ben Mitchell was finally discharged from the hospital, he was actually about to taste some freedom for the very first time in his life, which left Phil completely confused as to why Callum, out of all people, wouldn't wanna show up to his homecoming.

"Something's wrong, and I know it is, 'cause you'd never in a million years miss this moment." Phil said, staring intensely at him.

"And you make it sound like I want to!" Callum shouted, before taking a deep breath, "I just... I just can't go, alright?"

Phil shook his head, he knew that Callum was hiding something, but didn't have all day to figure it out, so he gave up... for now, "Okay, but I'm gonna find out one way or another."

"Hey, I thought I was the one hoping to become a detective someday?" Callum joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Well, you should already know by now that the Mitchells are a hell of a lot better than detectives." Phil joked back, giving him a wink, before going on his merrily little way.

Callum laughed, but was terrified by how Phil might react if he actually did find out about the horrible thing that he said to his only son, Ben. "Yeah, I'm screwed..." He thought to himself.

...

Phil went above and beyond for the homecoming, he just needed everything and everyone (except Callum, of course, which sucked) to be there to make sure that Ben knew that he was very much loved and missed oh so dearly for the past 20 years, "Surprise!" Was the partygoers reaction when Ben walked through the front door tightly holding Phil's hand as if it was for dear life.

"Dad, can I leave now? Too many people." Ben whispered, as he looked around in horror at the sea of people.

"No, you just got here, come on, everybody was waiting hours for you to finally arrive..." Phil whispered back at him, before pulling him along.

"Ben!" Whitney shouted, who was now heavily pregnant, "Sorry that Callum couldn't make it."

"It's okay, I mean, I'm sure that he didn't really wanna come any way..." Ben said, rolling his eyes.

"What did you just say?" Whitney said, she couldn't have heard what she thought she just heard, right?

"Nevermind!" Ben shouted, slapping his hands together, "Enjoy the rest of your night."

"Ben, what was that all abou-" Phil said, but was unable to finish his sentence, 'cause Ben wouldn't let him.

"Dad! Since you're so much better at entertaining the guest, why don't you just do it all for me, yeah? I gotta head to the bathroom..."

Once inside, Ben decided to check his phone for any missed text messages or calls from people showing their concern over his missing persons case and some were even from news stations wanting to get an exclusive interview with him, but what really caught his eye was one short message that was sent, it read, "Come back home please, I'll treat you right this time, Benny. Love, DI Thompson."


	9. Chapter 9

Just last week Ben would've almost threw up at the mere thought of receiving a text message from his kidnapper DI Thompson, but after the harsh words that Callum said to him, he couldn't help but to contemplate about it, I mean, what was so great about his life now? I mean, yeah, he remembered some things about Phil, but all those things were still 20 years ago. And Callum, the guy who saved his life, basically wished he was dead, so that's not exactly a motivational reason to wanna stay.

"Meet me behind the mall." Ben wrote with shaky hands, before crumbling down to the floor.

"Are you okay?" A stranger said, slowly walking over to him.

"Sorry, am I supposed to know you?" Ben said, as he wiped away his tears.

"Um, I sure hope not, 'cause I certainly don't remember you." The stranger joked, before offering him a hand up.

"You're funny," Ben said, before taking his hand, "What's your name?"

"Jay, Jay Brown." He pleasantly said, shocked that someone actually found him to be funny, "And yours?"

"My name is..." Ben said, forgetting it, 'cause for the past 20 years all DI Thompson would call him were explicit names.

"Don't worry, I get it, I mean, I wouldn't have been invited to your homecoming if I didn't." Jay joked again, before giving him a pat on the back.

Ben let out a sigh, finally for the first time since he got rescued, he was feeling like he didn't have to try and be whoever the past Ben Mitchell was, he could just be who he is today with Jay, 'cause he didn't know him then, just now.

...

Ben left the bathroom feeling relieved in more ways than one, and it was all thanks to Jay, but unfortunately, it still wasn't quite enough to stop him from meeting up with DI Thompson again, 'cause one person just couldn't overpower the rest of the world around him, so he went to go tell Lola and Lexi the news.

"You're kidding, right?" Lola said, in Ben's bedroom that went untouched since 2000, 'cause Phil just didn't have the heart to change it.

"No, I really do think that we should go back, there's nothing here for us."

"And there's something there for us?!"

"Shhh, okay, I'll just go on my own, please take good care of Lexi for me."

"Look, Ben, I know that we've both been through some crazy shit, but this still doesn't make any sense."

"Daddy, please don't go, I... I need you." Lexi said, before bursting into tears.

"And I need you, too." It was Callum, who was holding his old baseball cap.

"Get out, now!" Ben ordered, which shocked both Lola and Lexi.

"Ben, he's the one who saved you, how dare yo-" Lola hysterically said, before getting interrupted.

"Shut up! You don't know shit about who this guy really is." Ben said, looking her dead in the eye.

"Daddy! Don't talk to mommy that way!" Lexi shouted, before tightly holding onto Lola's leg.

"Uh, can I please have a moment with Ben?!" Callum shouted, he couldn't just stand around and watch Lola get insulted like that, especially since her little girl was present.

"Don't worry, he's all yours..." Lola said, before picking up Lexi and leaving the room.

"Lola!" Ben shouted, regret starting to set in, but only got the door to be slammed shut.

"See what you just did!" Ben shouted again, before weakly saying, "That was the only real family that I got."

"Ben..." Callum gently said, slowly making his way over to him, "Look, I'm really sorry that I caused this mess, okay? But that doesn't give you the right to act shitty around others... you need to start taking responsibilities for your actions."

"For my what?!" Ben shouted, causing Callum to look dumbfounded at him, "Chill dude, I was just kidding... fine, noted."

Callum then laughed a little bit, "So, if you don't mind me asking... how did you and Lola get together?"

Ben looked extremely uncomfortable, but that was nothing compared to how he was feeling inside, "Oh, ya know, just high school..."

"Ooh, well, I'm glad that you at least got to experience something normally, 'cause I was really worried at firs-" Callum said, before getting cut off.

"No, not really... I actually never went to high school... neither did Lola, and the reason why Lexi exists is because he... he forced us to... to do it."

"He what?!" Callum shouted, his blood running cold, 'cause now somehow, someday DI Thompson was even more of a dirty basturd then he had previously suspected.

"I know, right?!" Ben said, shaking his head, "But please calm down, he actually texted me earlier, so I know where he's gonna be..."

"Where?!" Callum shouted again, he just couldn't wait to lock him up and throw away the key.

"Behind the mall." Ben quietly said, as he fiddled with his fingernails.

"Great!" Callum shouted, jumping off the bed that they both were sitting on, "But first..." He said, passing him his baseball cap.

Ben burst out laughing, before trying on the tiny little cap, "So, whataya think?"

Callum thought Ben looked so adorably cute, and wanted nothing more than to cuddle up with him at that exact moment, but knew that would probably just freak him out, so instead he joked, "I think you need a new hat... and another hair cut."

...

Callum was pacing back and forth, just waiting for DI Thompson to arrive, but he didn't come alone, no, he brought backup and also Phil came, so the game was now all set, they just needed the criminal to play his cards, "Oh, fuck!" DI Thompson shouted, recognizing Callum right off the bat despite the disguise.

And he tried to run, he tried to run like it was for his life, but Phil caught up to him just in time, tackling him straight to the ground, "DI Thompson, we're arresting you for the kidnapping and assault of Ben Mitchell and Lola Peace." Jack Branning said, before giving Callum a nod, he was so proud of him for cracking this bizarre case.

Callum felt so proud of himself, he never gave up hope and boy, did it pay off, but before he could even go out and celebrate with his fellow coppers he received some voice mail from Ben, "Officer, I mean, Cal... I... I think I have a crush on someone, don't tell anyone."


	10. Chapter 10

"Ben?!" Callum casually shouted once he opened the front door to the Mitchell house, but deep down inside he shaking, he just never thought that Ben could possibly have the same feelings that he had 20 long years ago, I mean, yeah, it was puppy dog love, but even when he slipped away those feelings never faded away, and the fact that he now has a crush on him, well, that scares him just as much as it excites him.

"Callum." Ben whispered as he approached him, "I'm so glad that you could make it despite everything going on."

"Yeah, we just caught that gross DI Thompson guy and I was gonna celebrate with my boys, but... I'd much rather be here with you anyway."

"Awww," Ben said, as his heart began to flutter, but he shook off the sensation, "Jay Brown... I think I might be in love with him."

"Oh..." Callum said, as his heart broke into a million pieces, "Sorry, but if you're asking for advice on what to do... I'm not really you're guy."

"What kind of guy are you then?"

"I'm the guy who would take a bullet for a stranger, help an elderly person cross the street, and... I was the boy who would protect you from your own father from time to time."

"Oh my gosh..." Ben said, he had completely forgot about the bad side to Phil, the one that would make him sometimes sneak to Callum's home at night just so he wouldn't wake up to an alcoholic father trying to choke him in his sleep, "Wait, you were THAT boy?"

Callum's face lit up the darken place, he had basically given up all hope that Ben would ever remember who he was back then and was finally accepting him for the person that he is today, so this completely caught him by surprise, "Y-yeah... hi."

Ben was so happy that he almost cried, "Kiss me."

"Are you sure?! I mean, we don't have to rush into anythin-" Callum said, but was cut off by Ben pulling him in and giving him the biggest kiss of his life, the one that he craved for oh so many years, the one that would set his soul on fire and the one that would make him want more, "Let's go upstairs, I wanna show you something..."

Ben just blushed like hell, before Callum grabbed him by the hand and lead him up the staircase, their newfound heaven.

...

The following day, Ben and Callum quietly ate their breakfast on the couch together in the Mitchell household, just getting lost in each other's ocean blue eyes, and daydreaming about what a fun time they had last night, that is until Phil walked through the door, "Just got your text... look, I'm sorry for not telling you about our dark past, I guess I just didn't wanna scare you away from me."

"And I forgive you," Ben said, taking a deep breath, "That's actually not why I wanted you over here."

"Okay... why then?" Phil said, as he stared at him dazed and confused.

Just then Whitney, Stuart and Jonno all came marching into the place, "Dad... how have you been?" Callum said, jumping to his feet.

"Well, my son who cut me outta his life just calls me up one day wanting to reconcile... whataya think?!" Jonno shouted, shaking his head.

"Hey, to be fair, you weren't exactly father of the year, so you're actually really lucky that I'm willing to forgive you." Callum said, holding his ground.

"Yeah, if you want I can refresh your memory..." Ben said, giving him a smirk.

"Fine! I'm sorry, okay? Really I am, please... please forgive me son." Jonno said, getting choked up.

"Well, after seeing Ben accept his father's apology like that... sure, I'll accept yours." Callum said, before walking over to give him a big hug.

"Aye, it ain't a real hug until I'm involved." Stuart joked, before joining the embrace, finally, they're all actually family again.

Since everyone seemed to be in the mood to forgive, Whitney thought it'd be a great time to ask for it, "Callum... I... I'm not really pregnant."

"Wait, what?!" Callum shouted, quickly turning to face her, "Why would you ever lie to me about something like that?!"

"Because..." Whitney said, as tears came down her face, "Because I thought that you were gonna breakup with me, I mean, you did call off our wedding."

"That still gives you no right to play me like that!" Callum shouted again, before Ben whispered something in his ear, "But you weren't the only one with a secret..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Whitney said, as her heart began to race.

"I... I'm gay." Callum said, as Ben held onto his hand tightly to comfort him.

"You're joking, right?" Whitney said, before looking over at Ben, "Oh my gosh, I should've seen this coming from a mile away."

"Yeah, I guess so..." Callum sadly said, after all, Whitney was well aware of how obsessed he was with trying to find Ben.

"Now, now, let's not forget that you just lied about being pregnant..." Stuart said, stepping in the middle of the living room.

"Yeah, I think you two should just forgive each other." Phil said, shoving his hands into his front pockets.

"I second that or third that... whatever." Jonno said, putting his arm around Callum's neck to show some support.

"Alright, yeah, let's call a truce." Whitney said, before going over to give Callum a hug that they both needed.

A moment later, Lola and Lexi walked through the front door, followed closely by Jay, "Ben, I got your voice mail... it was really sweet and... and you're forgiven."

"So, are mommy and daddy getting back together?" Lexi squealed, before getting uneasy looks from both her parents.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry, but we're... we're better off as just friends." Ben said, rubbing the top of her head.

"Yeah, not everyone is meant to be together forever and that's okay." Jay said, before stepping closer to Lola, "And sometimes it's love at first sight."

"Wait, are you flirting with me?!" Lola shouted, she was shocked, but in the best way possible... he's cute.

"I mean, how could I not? You're drop dead gorgeous." Jay said, before looking down at Lexi, "And you, you're like a mini Barbie doll."

"Awww, thanks, I love Barbie!" Lexi gushed, causing everybody to smile and laugh a little bit.

"Now who's ready for some brunch done right by yours truly?!" Phil happily shouted, which got him nothing but applause.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading this! 🙌 It really does mean a lot to me. 😇


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